Cigarette package



Aug. 1, 1967 E. w. scHARRE CIGARETTE PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Shee l Filed Feb. l'?, 1966 IIII IvlllllllllflllllllllIIMIIII |||1J 1 f i 1 l l 1 s I |r| |1| f .1 u j Illll/ I I l I I I l I l I I I |l \l\|lll u h HI'IH |llllm l.. WM lo INVENTOR EDWARD w. scHARRE M "EX mf@ ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 Filed Feb. 17, 1966 INVENTOR.

EDWARD W. SCHARRE MIM@ ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,333,683 CIGARETTE PACKAGE Edward W. Scharre, Louisville, Ky., assignor to Anaconda Aluminum Company, a corporation of Montana Filed Feb. 17, 1966, Ser. No. 528,241 Claims. (Cl. 206-4L2) This invention relates to a cigarette package and more particularly it relates to a cigarette package comprised of a sheet of coated foil and paper laminate which is constructed to prevent moisture escape from the package but is permeable to gas under pressure within the package.

Cigarette packages presently in use consist of an inner wrap, often a foil and paper laminate, and an outer cellophane wrap which is used to seal the package to preserve the freshness of the cigarettes. Notwithstanding the double wrapping construction of these lcigarette packages, they still have a relatively short shelf life and efforts have long been made to develop a cigarette package having a single overwrap adaptable to modern wrapping machinery which will give greater shelf life.

It is an object of the package of the invention to provide a cigarette package which can consist of a single overwrap of coated foil and paper laminate folded and sealed with a structural arrangement that prevents moisture escape through seams and the body of the package but permits passage of gas under pressure within the package. A package which loses moisture too rapidly accelerates the spoilage of the tobacco but one that is too well sealed will retain the gas emitted during continued aging of the tobacco causing the tobacco to foul. The package of the invention balances these requirements in a novel construction which gives four to ten times the shelf life of the present cigarette packages.

Broadly stated, the cigarette package comprises a plurality of cigarettes grouped side by side with a unitary sheet of foil and paper laminated, coated on its foil side with a heat sensitive coating, convolutely wound about the cigarettes to form a tubular member with the paper lining the inside of the tubular member and end portions of the tubular member folded about the ends of the cigarettes to form a closed wrapper. A longitudinal seam is defined by one margin side edge portion of the sheet overlapping and heat sealed to the opopsite marginal side edge portion and characterized by the overlapping marginal side edge portion being folded back against itself with th'e foil on the outside of the fold so that the longitudinal seam is dened by adhesively joined foil-to-foil faces of the marginal side edge portions. The folded end portions of the tubular member are folded with each overlapping portion having foil on the outside o-f the fold todene adhesively joined lfoil-to-foil faces and characterized by the marginal end edge of the outermost folded portion being folded back against itself with foil on the outside of the fold; moisture penetration through the package is prevented by the coating and the longitudinal seam and closed end construction, but gas under pressure in the package can permeate through the package.

Although this package can be used alone as the complete cigarette container, it will usually be covered by a decorative overwrap on which the brand name Will be printed; this overwrap can be a rigid cardboard or plastic box of the type presently popular.

In addition to the novelty of the construction of the package itself, limited sizes of the aluminum foil and paper laminate and the coating have been determined Which cooperate with the novel construction and have been found to give 4added shelf life to the cigarettes without substantial modilication to existing cagarette packaging equipment.

A preferred embodiment is described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet of foil and paper laminated showing as dotted the intended fold lines;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective of the package showing one end portion partially closed;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along lines 3 3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective of the closed package showing the assembly of an overwrapper;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section taken along lines 5 5 0f FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective of the package inserted in a rigid outer box.

As shown in FIG. `1 the unitary sheet of aluminum foil and paper laminate 10 has been cut to length usually after stripping from a feed roll. As shown in FIG. 3 the laminate consists of a paper ply 11 in a range of 2O pounds per ream to 30 pounds per ream bond paper of a thickness of approximately .0025 inch to .0037 inch thickness. The foil ply 12 laminated to the paper ply 11 has a range of 10 pounds per ream to 14 pounds per ream and a thickness of yapproximately .00025 inch to .00035 inch. The foil is laminated to the paper in the usual way, usually with a casein latex base adhesive. The foil ply 12 is coated on its exterior surface with a heat sealable coating 13 which falls within a range of 1 pound per ream to 3 pounds per ream and a thickness of approximately .001 inch to .0003 inch. Of the heat sealable coatings which are available, those generally available to the art `are a vinyl chloride vinyl acetate copolymer plus wax (paralln, carnauba ete); for ease of application the vinyl resinous composition may be mixed with .an acetone-toluene methyl ethyl ketone mixed solvent. The following two specific ycompositions have been used in the range listed below with particular success:

1) A vinyl acetate-vinyl chloride dibasic acid resin containing a certain amount of rened microcrystalline wax and a chemical plasticizer dissolved in suitable solvents (2) A vinyl acetate-vinyl chloride-dibasic acid resin with a microcrystalline wax dissolved in suitable solvents 24% by weight (86% vinyl chloride, 13% vinyl acetate copolymer with 1% maleic acid anhydride) 1% petroleum based wax-microcrystalline type 10% toluene 10% methyl ethyl ketone 55% acetone The range of thickness of aluminum foil and paper laminate coated with the heat sealable coating were determined empirically to satisfy the numerous criteria which must Ibe satisfied to make a satisfactory package. As discussed generally above, if tobacco stands too long in a pouch too well sealed, the pressure in the pouch will increase because of the gas liberated rby the tobacc-o during continued aging. Under these conditions there is generated an off odor or winey smell from the tobacco. With Ithe construction of the package of the invention tested in the ranges of laminate and coating given above there was no pressurizing of the packs and no noticeable oi odor after prolonged standing in the packages. Taste testingl revealed a far superior taste to comparably aged cellophane sealed cigarettes. The required moisture content of from 12 to 16.5 percent was maintained up to 700 hours as opposed to about only 125 hours for standard cellophane sealed packages when placed in 150 F. over calcium chloride.

Although the chemical composition of the coating can be varied and it is impossible to test all available and theoretical compositions which can be used, it is intended that any coating composition of the general type described which permits gas passage but retains moisture as specified can be used.

With respect to the laminate, no substantial variation of the range given can be used because it could not be adapted to present packaging equipment; moreover, thinner constructions would lack the necessary strength and durability of handling while heavier constructions would cause problems in top and bottom folding and would reduce speed in packaging due to slower heat transfer in the sealing areas.

In FIG. l, the unitary sheet of aluminum and paper laminate which has been cut to size is shown with its paper ply facing upwardly. The dotted lines in the figure indicate the points at which the laminate 10 will be folded but are not pre-scored folded lines. The sheet 10 is generally rectangular in shape and denes marginal side edges 14 and 15-and end edges 16 and 17. The length between the marginal side edge portions 14 and 15 is greater than the circumference of twenty cigarettes lined side by side in two rows to permit the sheet to be convolutely wound about the cigarettes to form a generally rectangular tubular shaped member substantially as shown in FIG. 2 with the paper lining the inside of the tubular member and end portions 18 and 19 folded about the end of the cigarettes to form a closed wrapper. A longitudinal seam 20 is defined by one marginal side edge portion 21 of the sheet overlapping and heat sealed to the opposite marginal side edge portion 22. The seam is characterized by the overlapping marginalA side edge portion 21 being folded back against itself with the foil ply 13 on the outside of the fold so that the longitudinal seam is defined about adhesively joined foil-to-foil faces as best shown in FIG. 6.

Each end portion 18 and 19 of Ithe package is formed with an identical folding scheme and therefore description of one end portion is sufficient for an understanding of the construction-of the opposite end portion. A rst end portion 23 along one elongated side of the rectangular tubular member defining either the front or back of the package is folded down against the ends of the cigarettes. Tuck portions 24 and 25 on opposite narrow sides of the rectangular package are folded down against the firstV end portion 23 in foil-to-foil adhesive contact along the overlapping marginal edges 26 and 27 defined by Afoil on the outside of the fold. A second end portion 28 along the elongated side opposite to the first end portion is folded downagainst the folded first portion 23 and tuck portions v24 and 25 in foil-to-foil adhesive contact. The outermost marginal portion 29 of the second end portion is folded back against itself with foil on the outside of the fold to define a marginal foil edge portion 30 in adhesive foil-to-foil contact with the iirst end portion as shown in FIG. 4. It is to be noted that the package is characterized throughout its construction inV that all exposed edge portions are the outside of folds and are defined by foil, because the marginal edge Yis folded back against itself wherever its edge would be exposed on the exterior of the package. This positions the paper laminate within the body of the package and precludes wicking of moisture through the relatively porous paper ply to the exterior of the package as would be the case with simple overlap seams commonly used. It is by virtue of this construction that the moisture retention of the package is so greatly improved. All seams are heat sealed.

In most cigarette packagev constructions it is desirableV to provide some means for ease of gaining access to the with the properties of this package can be incorporated into the construction. One example is shown in the drawings. It consists of a strip 31 which can be a string or braided material which has been impregnated with wax.

` By impregnating this strip 31 with wax, the end portion 32 which extends laterally out from the seam 20 adjacent the top of the package will not provide a means of moisture escape from within the package. As shown in FIG. 1 the strip preferably extends from the seam 20 about one third of the circumference of the sheet thereby permitting one end edge portion of the package to be;

ripped open by simply grasping the end of the strip 32 and tearing the end portion of the package open.

As shown in FIG. 4, if desired the package of the invention can be inserted into an overwrap 34 and a revenue stamp or other sealing member 35ican be sealed to opposite sides of the overwrap 34 and overlap the top end of the package t-o hold the overwrap in place. Because of the construction of the'package of the invention, the overwrap is really unnecessary and would be desirable only to provide an attractive overwrap on which the brand name of cigarettes could be attractively presented.

It is also contemplated to' place the package in a rigid cardboard box 36 as shown in FIG. 7. Rigid boxes have gained acceptance and the cigarette package of t-he invention could easily be adapted to this type rigid outer4 container. Of course, it could also easily be placed in the rigid plastic boxes presently on the market.

By the construction of the package of the invention, moisture penetration is substantially prevented through the seams throughout the structure of the package; therefore the package has been found to retain moisture for four to ten times longer thanV the present cigarette package on the market. In addition, by t-he foil and paper laminate sheet composition which satisfy the requirement that it is permeable to gas released by the tobacco `on aging there is no fouling of the cigarettes during prolonged shelf life as would be the case if the package `were truly hermetically sealed.

I claim:

1. A cigarette package comprising a plurality of-cigarettes grouped side by side and a unitary sheet of foil and paper laminate, coated on its coating, convolutely wound a tubular member with the about the cigarettes to form ber folded about the ends of the cigarettes to form a closed wrapper, a longitudinal seam defined by one marginal side edge portion of the sheet overlapping and heat sealed to the opposite marginal side edge portion and characterized by the overlapping marginal side edge portion being folded back against itself with the foil on the outside of the fold so that the longitudinal seam is delned by adhesively formed foil-to-foil faces of lthe marginal side edge portions, said folded end portions of the tubular member folded with each overlapping portion having foil on the outside of the fold to define adhesively joined foil-to-foil facesj and characterized by the marginal end edge of the outerv most folded portion on each end being folded back vagainst itself with foil on the outside of the fold, moisture penetra- Y tion through the package being prevented by the coating and the longitudinal seam and closed end construction.

foil side with a heat sensitive paper lining the inside of the tubular member, and end portions of the tubular mem- Y fold, and second end portions along the side opposite to the rst end portion folded against the first and tuck p0rtions in foil-to-foil adhesive contact with the outermost overlapping edge of the second end portion folded back against itself with foil on the outside of the fold to deline a marginal foil edge portion n adhesive foil-to-foil contact with the rst end portion.

3. A cigarette package according to claim 1 wherein said coated foil and paper laminate is aluminum foil from about to 14 lbs. per ream laminated to bond paper of about to 30 lbs. per ream.

4. A cigarette package according to claim 3 wherein `said coating is a vinyl chloride-acetate resinous composition of about 1 t-o 3 lbs. per ream.

5. A cigarette package according to claim 1 wherein means are provided within the package for ease of opening by hand.

6. A cigarette package according to claim 5 wherein a wax impregnated strip extends through the longitudinal seam and at least partially around the inside of the package adjacent one closed end portion for ripping open the package.

7. A cigarette package according to claim 1 wherein an outer Wrapper surrounds the package.

8. A cigarette package according to claim 7 wherein the outer Wrapper is a rigid closed box.

9. A cigarette package according to claim 1, wherein the moisture content within the package can be maintained within the range of l2 to 16.5 .percent for greater than hours and up to about 700 hours when placed in F. over calcium chloride.

10. A cigarette package according to claim 4 wherein the moisture content within the package can be maintained within the range of 12 to 16.5 percent for greater than 125 hours and lup t-o about 700 hours when placed in 150 F. over calcium chloride.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,516,455 11/1924 Panza 229-87 2,130,355 9/1938 Magill 117-132 2,156,987 5/1939 Hill 117-132 2,268,970 1/ 1942 Tindal 229-87 2,295,231 `9/ 1942 Milmore et al 229-87 2,889,233 6/1959 Stefrey 117-132 3,301,468 1/1967 Staley 229-87 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. I. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CIGARETTE PACKAGE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CIGARETTES GROUPED SIDE BY SIDE AND A UNITARY SHEET OF FOIL AND PAPER LAMINATE, COATED ON ITS FOIL SIDE WITH A HEAT SENSITIVE COATING, CONVOLUTELY WOUND ABOUT THE CIGARETTES TO FORM A TUBULAR MEMBER WITH THE PAPER LINING THE INSIDE OF THE TUBULAR MEMBER, AND END PORTIONS OF THE TUBULAR MEMBER FOLDED ABOUT THE ENDS OF THE CIGARETTES TO FORM A CLOSED WRAPPER, A LONGITUDINAL SEAM DEFINED BY ONE MARGINAL SIDE EDGE PORTION OF THE SHEET OVERLAPPING AND HEAT SEALED TO THE OPPOSITE MARGINAL SIDE EDGE PORTION AND CHARACTERIZED BY THE OVERLAPPING MARGINAL SIDE EDGE PORTION BEING FOLDED BACK AGAINST ITSELF WITH THE FOIL ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE FOLD SO THAT THE LONGITUDINAL SEAM IS DEFINED BY ADHESIVELY FORMED FOIL-TO-FOIL FACES OF THE MARGINAL SIDE EDGE PORTIONS, SAID FOLDED END PORTIONS OF THE TUBULAR MEMBER FOLDED WITH EACH OVERLAPPING PORTION HAVING FOIL ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE FOLD TO DEFINE ADHESIVELY JOINED FOIL-TO-FOIL FACES AND CHARACTERIZED BY THE MARGINAL END EDGE OF THE OUTERMOST FOLDED PORTION ON EACH END BEING FOLDED BACK AGAINST ITSELF WITH FOIL ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE FOLD, MOISTURE PENETRATION THROUGH THE PACKAGE BEING PREVENTED BY THE COATING AND THE LONGITUDINAL SEAM AND CLOSED END CONSTRUCTION BUT GAS UNDER PRESSURE IN THE PACKAGE BEING PERMEABLE THROUGH THE COATED LAMINATE. 